The sound of the door opening makes him turn, prepared to feign interest in photos of elephants and lions. But it is not the King who stands there. It is Elizabeth, holding the door handle as if she is not quite sure whether she wants to come in or not, an uncertain smile trembling on her lips.

Philip looks across the room at her and feels something in his chest click and unlock.

Elizabeth.

She has blossomed, is his first impression. She looks taller, more assured. There is a new glow about her, and those clear eyes are bluer than ever.

Philip clears his throat. ‘Hello, you.’

Elizabeth closes the door with a quiet click. ‘Hello,’ she says breathlessly.

He doesn’t think, he just opens his arms, and she walks across the room and right into them.

Chapter 34

‘I missed you,’ Philip tells her. They are walking in the palace gardens, hand in hand. It is a beautiful spring day, or maybe it only seems so because they are both euphoric. Birds twitter busily overhead, drowning out the distant sound of traffic around Victoria Station. The smell of cut grass with its tantalising hint of summer drifts in the air while Susan bustles ahead. Sunlight stripes across the path in between patches of shade as it winds around the lake. A duck chivvies her ducklings into the water.

It is true, Philip thinks. If he is honest, he has missed Elizabeth more than he expected to. At first he was mainly frustrated by the enforced separation which delayed their plans for marriage, but he didn’t think he would miss her quiet presence quite so much.

David Milford Haven pounced as soon as HMS Vanguard had left for South Africa. ‘You’d better make the most of these last months of freedom,’ he announced. ‘You’ll have to behave the moment the engagement is announced.’ He dragged Philip out to clubs and Philip told himself that he was enjoying it but at odd times he would find himself thinking about Elizabeth. Everyone in David’s set – in his set too, he supposes – is so sharp and sophisticated. They are fun, yes, but sometimes too loud, too challenging. In comparison, Elizabeth seems tantalising, like a glass of cool water after too much champagne.

‘I missed you too,’ Elizabeth tells him, twining her fingers around his.

‘Oh, come on, you had a wonderful time,’ he teases her. ‘Admit it!’

She laughs. ‘I did, you’re right. How could I not? Papa wasn’t well,’ she says, a shadow crossing her eyes, ‘but we saw so much and met so many people. Everything was so different and exciting, it was overwhelming at times. On my birthday, the South African government laid on a ball. It was beautiful. I wore a white tulle evening gown, sparkling with diamante embroidery and sequins … I know it sounds silly, but I felt like a princess. And then Field Marshal Smuts presented me with a silver casket. When I opened it, I found twenty-one perfect diamonds. They were so magnificent that I actually gasped.’